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Thursday, 22 November 2012

Introducing Daisy

So here she is, the latest member of the Bag End crew.

This little dog has only been with us 2 days and already she has carved her way into our hearts (and onto the sofa!) Daisy has lovely manners, knows her basic commands and despite being an absolute bag of bones, eats very gently. We put the big crate in a corner of the sitting room and whilst exploring she took herself into it and settled down. Sprawling across the sofa with me after supper met with approval too. She's house-trained, asks to go out, and barks at delivery men but was very friendly when the electrician popped in earlier.

Virtually nothing is known about Daisy and we'll have a DNA test done to find out what we can about her breeding. Knowing what the makeup of a 'mutt' is helps understand the dog's needs in terms of training and activity, and gives some behavioural clues.

We've been told she was found by a dog warden in Lancashire, freezing cold, starving and very, very scared. She was taken to a proper rescue centre and we found her on their website. The rescue staff tell us she's not put on an ounce of weight in the three weeks they had her because she's been so stressed. Difficult to photograph but her appearance is quite distressing, every rib and vertebrae is visible, the sacral bones of her pelvis stick up alarmingly and there is no flesh around her sternum. She weighs 17.2kg and is 20" tall at the shoulder. We're told the dog warden felt Daisy was one or two cold nights away from death, sounds melodramatic but I can believe it. Building up her weight is going to take a long time. It's hard not to think about whether there's been any organ damage because we don't know how long she was a stray for, however, I'm not going to worry about things I cannot control. Daisy is getting the best quality nutrition I know of, warmth and TLC, and our vet is 5 minutes away if necessary.

Our first visit to meet Daisy was on Sunday and we spent about three hours with her. A spaying had been arranged for Monday and although I was concerned that she wasn't really in a state to be operated on, I couldn't do anything to stop it. I returned first thing Tuesday (yes, I missed yoga!) and sat in the kennel with her for an hour. It was obvious that she needed to be got out of there without delay. She couldn't settle, every noise had her on full alert and pacing around, the poor little dog had been running on adrenaline for far too long.

The rescue centre have a policy of "no home-visit, no adoption". We are 80 miles away and arrived on Sunday with a data stick full of photos of Bag End, so thankfully that requirement was soon shelved. They also have a rule that you cannot take a dog unless you have visited three times. To my relief a chat with the Manager got that policy circumvented too; everyone agreed there was nothing to be gained from keeping Daisy in the kennel for a moment longer than necessary.

She travelled home surprisingly well in a soft crate and although there was some whining and grumbling she soon calmed down (and wasn't sick, hurrah). She's sticking to me like Velcro and thankfully Management is at home for a few days so we can work on her spending time with both of us and not getting too attached just to me. Management had the idea of putting the soft travel crate in the bedroom; brilliant move because Daisy went straight into it, curled up and didn't move until morning. Today I actually had to wake her up to go outside, she toilets without any messing around and then wants to come back inside for breakfast. That's a routine I'm not going to complain about.

Delighted Daisy is settling in well. She's obviously had a tough recent life but the fact that her toilet training is holding up well despite the stress, has to be excellent news and suggests that her insides may be in better shape than you feared. Obviously a lot of weight to pile on but she doesn't look at all stressed now and I'm sure she'll soon start to fill out.

Teagan doesn't appear to have had a very stressful time prior to meeting me but she was underweight and it only took a few days before her weight started to increase and her ribs started to disappear. She has stabilised about 5 kgs more than when I got her - although some of that will be down to natural weight gain as she left puppyhood behind.

Keep up the good work - rescuing a dog is hard work but very rewarding isn't it? x

Hi John, thank you for your lovely comment, and for all your support & emails this week, very much appreciated. Glad Teegan continues to do well. Yes, a rescue dog might be a lot of work but incredibly rewarding, you've summed it up perfectly :}

Sue, we'll never know the answer but our instincts tell us she lived with an older person ... perhaps that person died or had to go into care and the family took Daisy and dumped her rather than find her a decent home? From what we know of where she was supposedly found she wouldn't have got there on her own, which makes us think she was chucked out of a car. There truly are some bastards around.

Thanks Eileen, and welcome to Bag End. If you've caught up on any more posts you will know by now that Daisy is fine, and continuing to gently ensure the household is managed to suit Her Ladyship's requirements!

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